Warwickshire Avon – Restless Legs and the Pearl Necklace

I thought Barbel were a bit like Kim Kardashian’s bodyguard Pascal Duvier, all brawn and no brains, after all whilst he was out partying with her younger and more attractive sisters his square rigged equipped employer was tied up at gun point by the assailants who were dressed as police officers. They managed get away with millions of pounds worth of her jewels, according to the news anyway….

Did they manage a pearl necklace when they dumped her in the bath, nah, just a ridiculously huge diamond ring and the contents of her jewelry box. I doubt she will be so keen to show it all off next time.

I’m not that up with current affairs and this modern phenomenon of reality TV if I’m honest, apart from her circus freakish backside remind me why she is so famous again?

As I ain't got a clue....

Anyway these thieves made it look easy and made the bodyguard look a right clod hopper but at the moment these battling Barbel are making me look the fool too.

The only success I’ve had is once the light goes, certainly not on my terms as I want a daytime fish you see.

A couple or three attempts during the day have remained fruitless but for this session a change of tactics were in order.

My Willis-Ekbom disease kicks in, restless legs if you will, particularly on a weekend when I cannot just sit there and do nothing, my legs start to ache and I need to get them moving.

At work I’ve no choice but to put up with it but when I can, one is always on one’s feet.

So for this roving session, it was a matter of fishing as many swims as possible and try and put a bait where in this clear water they would likely be seeking sanctuary away from angling pressure.

Overhanging trees, snags, rafts and cover….

I use a centrepin for the majority of my Barbel fishing but to reach certain swims I knew I would have to swap to fixed spool reel. I also rigged up my beefier Fox rod and chose that over my usual 1.75TC Harrison.

Bait was simple flavoured cubes of luncheon meat that were defrosted and refrozen a few times to soak in the coating better to make it more pungent. I find the Sonubaits flavour shakers brilliant for this, particularly the Super Krill, Spicy Sausage and Cheesy Garlic, they are not bad value for money either as they last a long time.

I wanted the bait to behave as naturally as possible so I decided to try and much longer hooklength than I usually use and I’d fish it link ledger style so I could vary the shot to just hold bottom. A lift of the rod on a slack line would carry the meat further downstream to try and put the bait under the nose of a Barbus to try and tempt one like a kid walking past a fairground dougnnut maker that has just removed them from the oil….

Irresistible, well that’s what I was hoping anyway.

If a Barbel wasn't forthcoming then I'd have a quick smash and grab session after work before the clocks go back.

Tough or what, after a good number of swims without even a tap and not even spotting any fish under ones cocoons, an underarm cast got the bait right next to a raft, to the right of it was static water so ideal really as after watching the lump of meat trundle down slowly to the bed it didn't take long for a fish to pick it up.

A big drop back bite and a fish was on. It powered under the raft but was soon under control and sadly I knew it was a greedy Chub, to be fair it was under-gunned but it gave a good account for himself. 3.5lb ish something like that.

On the way back to the car I stopped for a natter with a few other anglers who were finding it tough too, biteless and fish less, not good.

Especially when one chap said he'd been up to the Trent last week and had plenty of barbel and chub on the float. I couldn't believe how difficult it is on the Avon at the minute.

Come dusk, his fortunes would change, no doubt about that.

So the last swim, again, tight to a raft and within ten minutes all hell breaks loose and another fish is on, this one must have hooked himself and felt the resistance and it went a bit mental.

A small Chub again, this one around 3lb.

So looks like back to a plan B, a Tuesday or Wednesday smash and grab.